Means for splicing cable



P 1940- P. E. LITTLEHALE 2,213,224

MEANS FOR SPLIGING CABLE Original Filed June 22, 1936 INVENTOR PwL/P E.LITTLE/VALE.

BY WW7 ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 3, 1940 PATENT @FHQE MEANS FOR srLioiNGCABLE Phillip E. Littlehale, Middletown, Conn, assignor, by mesneassignments, to Guardian Manufacturing & Supply Corporation, New York,N. Y., a corporation of New York Original application June 22, 1936,Serial No. 86,464, now Patent No. 2,149,814, dated March 7, 1939.Divided and this application June 23,

1938, Serial No. 215,458

6 Claims.

My invention relates to ammunition and to working elements, hammers,pistons or the like adapted for use in explosive operated tools, such asthat described in my Patent No. 2,008,362,

granted me July 16, 1935.

As described in said patent, working elements such as hammers or punchesare actuated by an explosive charge. When, as I prefer, the same elementis used over and over again, it is desirable that it be capable of readyinsertion into and removal from the tool. It is also desirable that theworking element be properly positioned with respect to the explosivecharge,

and the work to be operated upon.

1d more, the type of working element used may vary in size and weightand the form of any depression or deformation produced by theworkelement may vary withthe work to be per,- formed.

o In accordance with my invention such changes and variations in thework are made possible by providing a shell or cartridge carrying theexplosive charge for actuating the tool and formed to receive and holdthe working element. A

:5 working element of the desired character can then be inserted intothe shell, and the shell carrying the working element placed in thetool, so that the element is in proper relation or position with respectto both the explosive charge '30 and the work insuring properperformance of the desired operation. After the tool is factuated, theshell may be removed and discarded and the working element removed fromthe tool and inserted into another shell for performing a 3.3 succeedingoperation.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a novel typeof ammunition adapted for use in explosive actuated tools.

Another object of my invention is to provide 40 a novel working elementadapted for use in explosive actuated tools.

A further object of my invention is to insure accurate positioning ofthe working element and an explosive charge for use in actuating anexplosive actuated tool.

Another object of the invention is to provide a firm bond between acable or electrical conductor and splicing or terminal members therefor.

50 These and other objects and features of my invention will appear fromthe following description thereof, in which reference is made to theaccompanying figures of the drawing where- 5 Fig. l is an elevation of atypical construction Further embodying the present invention with a partthereof broken away.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view through a portion of an explosive actuatedtool, showing ammunition embodying the present invention positioned '5therein.

Fig. 3 is a rear view of that portion of an explosive actuated tool,illustrated in Fig. 2.

Figs. 4 and 5 are perspectives of alternative forms of working elementsadapted for use in an explosive actuated tool.

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view through a cable and splicingmember as acted upon by the working elements of Figs. 4 and 5.

Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line ll of Fig. 6.

Fig, 8 is a plan view of the construction of Fig. 6, and

Fig. 9 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 2 illustrating an alternativeconstruction.

In that form of my invention illustrated in the drawing for the purposeof indicating the nature of my invention, a suitable working element 2formed of steel or other material and of the desired size, weight, andstrength is provided with a reduced portion 4 at one end thereof, and ifdesise'd, a similarly reduced portion 6 may be provided at the oppositeend thereof.

A shell 8 carrying an explosive charge for actuating the tool, isprovided with a base l0 and may have the usual detonator' and a chargeof powder 42. Wadding It retains the powder in the shell and an extendedportion 16 of the shell is suitably formed to retain the wadding inposition. As illustrated the extended portion I6 is folded inward-1yupon itself or crimped to prevent displacement of the wadding. In thepresent invention the portion I6 is extended sulficiently to present arecess beyond the wadding into which the reduced portion 4 of theworking 40 elements extends. The extended and folded portion !6 of theshell is'sufiiciently resilient and yieldable to permit ready insertionof the reduced portion 6 and to hold the working element in position sothat it will be properly actuated 5 when the explosive charge is fired.The shell may be formed of paper or other suitable material and may beof any desired caliber or bore to fit the tool in which it is to beused.

The working element preferably fits closely 5 within the barrel H orchamber of the tool since it has been found in practice that moresatisfactory results are generally obtained when the clearance betweenthe body I8 of the working element and the barrel of the tool does notexceed a few thousandths of an inch. The free end 6 of the workingelement which as shown may be reduced may be suitably formed to performthe type of work for which it is intended. By forming the opposite endsof the working element with reduced portions 4 and 5, the element may bereversed so that different types of operations may be performed with asingle element, simply by reversing the element and positioning eitherthe reduced portion 4 or the reduced portion 6 adjacent the wadding andwithin the recess formed by the extended portion i6 of the shell. Theelement will thus be retained in the shell by the resiliency of theextended portion I6.

As illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, the form of the reduced portions 4 and6 may be quite difierent in character or appearance. The elementsillustrated are particularly adapted for use in splicing cable orelectrical conductors andfor attaching splicing members, terminalmembers, and connectors thereto. In the construction of Fig. 4, thereduced portion l is provided with a circularly arranged group toprojections 28, which serve to form a depression in a tubular cablesplicing member or sleeve 22, such as that illustrated in Fig. 8. Thereduced portion 6 of the construction of Fig. 5 is provided with aprojection 24% of elongated form, the surface of which may be corrugatedor otherwise formed to produce an indentation, such as that illustratedat 26 in Fig. 8.

Each of the working elements shown, when used in splicing cables, servesto crimp or fold the material of the sleeve 22, as shown in Fig. 6,thereby providing a firm bond between the sleeve and the cable orconductor 3i insuring great strength and excellent electricalconductivity. Any tendency for the depressed area to spring away fromthe conductor or to buckle due to expansion, vibration, or tension isovercome by the folded or corrugated nature of the indentationsproduced. The construction of Fig. 5 has i the further advantage ofproducing an indentation, which, as shown in Fig. 7, serves to draw thematerial of the sleeve inwardly about the conductor overcoming anytendency there might be for the sleeve to flatten or spread outwardlyaway from the cable at the points 32. At the same time the depressionmay also serve to corrugate or fold the material of the sleeve toprevent buckling thereof.

When using the construction of Fig. 5, it is desirable that theprojection 2 3 be positioned in the tool in a predetermined relationwith respect to the work, such as the sleeve to be acted upon in orderthat the indentation produced will extend lengthwise to the sleeve or insome other desired direction with respect to the work. For this purposethe working element may be provided with a notch or mark 3% and theshell 8 may be provided with. a similar mark, so that the element may bepositioned in a known relation with respect to the shell. The base ofthe shell may be similarly marked for positioning the shell within thetool or as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the base iii of the shell may beformed with a recess or depression 35 to be engaged by a projection 38on the usual ejector 40, provided for ejecting or removing the shellfrom the tool.

With this construction the working element may be positioned in theshell with the mark 34 in alignment with the mark on the shell, so thatupon placing the shell in the tool with the notch 36 in engagement withthe projection 38 on the ejector, the projection 24 on the workingelement will be accurately aligned or positioned for producing anindentation in the work lying in the desired direction with respectthereto.

Upon operating an explosive actuated tool for splicing cables when usingammunition embodying my invention, the cable 30 is inserted into atubular sleeve 22, and a working element such as that of Fig. 5 ispositioned in a shell with the reduced portion 4 thereof, engaging theprojecting portion iii of the shell and extending into the recess beyondthe wadding I4. The working element is thus firmly but removably securedin position with respect to the explosive charge. The mark 34 on theworking element is positioned in alignment with the mark on the shelland the shell is inserted in the tool with the recess 36 in engagementwith the projection 38 on the ejector 40. The sleeve 22 having the cable36 inserted therein, is placed in position in the tool and the explosivecharge is fired for actuating the tool. The working element is thusprojected against the sleeve 22 forming a depression therein such asthat shown in Figs. 6, 7

and 8, drawing the sleeve tightly about conductor 3E] and corrugatingthe depressed area. A firm and permanent bond is thereby providedbetween the sleeve and the cable. After performing the operation, theshell may be ejected and discarded and the working element removed fromthe tool and inserted in another shell with either the reduced end 4 orthe reduced end 6, engaging the extended portion l6 of the shell so thatanother operation may be performed and, if desired, a different type ofdepression or deformation formed in the work.

While the shell illustrated may be formed of paper, it will be apparentthat it may, if desired, be formed of other material, and the diameteror caliber may be of any suitable size. It will be noted, however, thatin order to form a large depression it will be necessary to employ alarge working element having a large free end and that the barrel of thetool will have to be proportionately large. ly small depression isneeded, smaller metallic shells may be preferred.

As illustrated in Fig. 9 an adapter may be used in order that arelatively large working element may be used while employing only arelatively small cartridge for actuating the tool. With thisconstruction an adapter 42 in the form of a tubular member is insertedin the breach of the tool 44 and is provided with a rim 46 having arecess 58 therein for positioning the adapter with respect to theejector 50. The adapter is thus positioned also with respect to thetool. The

' adapter is formed on the front thereof with a projection 52 whichengages or fits into a complementary recess formed in the workingelement 55 so that the working element is positioned with respect to theadapter while the adapter is positioned with respect to the tool. Thelocation of a projection on the forward end of the working element isthus fixed so that a depression may be formed in the work at apredetermined angle or direction with respect thereto.

The cartridge 56 shown in Fig. 9 may be relatively small and if desiredmay be formed of metal with a crimped portion 58 for holding wadding 60in place and with a projecting portion 62 which may be split at 64 orotherwise formed to frictionally engage the reduced portion 66 of theworking element. The reduced portion of the Working element may beprovided However, when only a relativewith a recess 68 engaged by theprojecting portion 52 of the cartridge, if desired, although this is notessential since frictional engagement of the working element with thecartridge has been found in practice to be sufficient to insure properpositioning and operation of the worlnng element.

In any case, it is desirable that the size and weight of the workingelement and the size and character of the explosive charge used foractuating the same should be chosen to produce the most eifectiveoperation of the tool. Furthermore, it is usually desirable that thebody it of the working element be nearly as large as the barrel of thetool, so that only a small clearance is provided in order that theworking element when actuated, will be held against the work for anappreciable length of time, due to theforce of the gases within thebarrel and will not be permitted to rebound from the work until thematerial acted upon has taken a permanent set.

The forms of working elements illustrated in the drawing represent onlytwo of the many possible alternatives that may be used for splicingcables or for performing other work. Furthermore, only one end of theworking element need be reduced for engagement with the shell. However,I prefer to reduce both ends of the working element in order that eitherend may be used and the element reversed for performing differentoperations or for use in the event that the opposite end thereof shouldbecome damaged. It should, therefore, be understood that the forms of myinvention illustrated in the drawing and herein described, are intendedto be representative of typical embodiments of my invention and are notintended to limit the scope of the claims.

This application is a division of the applicants issued Patent No.2,149,814, dated March 7, 1939.

I claim:

1. In a cable bonding tool having a barrel, means for supporting cablebonding elements in a predetermined position adjacent the muzzle of saidbarrel and an indenting member movable in said barrel to engage saidcable bonding elements, the combination of an adapter formed to receivea cartridge and. support the same adjacent the breech of said barrel, aprojection on the end of said indenting member which engages the cablebonding elements and cooperating means on the indenting member andadapter for locating the projection on said indenting member in apredetermined oriented position with respect to said barrel.

2. In a cable bonding tool having a barrel, means for supporting cablebonding elements in predetermined position adjacent the muzzle of saidbarrel and an indenting member movable in said barrel to engage saidcable bonding elements, the combination of an adapter formed to receivea cartridge and support the same adjacent the breech of said barrel, aprojection on the end of said indenting member which engages the cablebonding elements and means on the adapter cooperating with both theindenting member and the breech end of said barrel for locating theprojection on said indenting member in a predetermined oriented positionwith respect to barrel.

3. In a cable bonding tool having a barrel, means for supporting cablebonding elements in predetermined positionadjacent the muzzle of saidbarrel and an indenting member movable in said barrel to engage saidcable bonding elements, the combination of an adapter formed to receivea cartridge and support the same adjacent the breech of said barrel, adiametrically extending projection on the end of said indenting memberwhich engages the cable bonding elements and cooperating tongue andrecess means on the indenting member and the breech of said barrel forlocating the projection on said indenting member in a predeterminedoriented position with respect to said barrel.

4. In a cable bonding tool having a barrel, means for supporting cablebonding elements in predetermined position adjacent the muzzle of saidbarrel and an indenting member movable in said barrel to engage saidcable bonding elements, the combination of an adapter formed to ereceive a cartridge and support the same adjacent the breech of saidbarrel, a diametrically extending projection on the 'end of saidindenting member which engages the cable bonding elements andcooperating tongues and recesses on said adapter, indenting member andthe breech of said barrel for locating the projection on said indentingmember in a predetermined oriented position with respect to said barrel.

5. In a cable bonding tool having a barrel with a relatively large bore,an indenting member slidably movable within said barrel. and means forpositioning cable bonding elements with respect to the muzzle of saidbarrel, the combination of an adapter formed to receive a cartridge ofsubstantially smaller bore than said barrel, diametrically extendingprojecting means on the end of said indenting member which engages cablebonding elements on said support and means on said adapter engaging bothsaid tool,

and said indenting member to locate the projecting means on saidindenting member in a predetermined oriented position with respect tosaid barrel.

6. A cable bonding tool having a barrel, an indenting member slidablyfitting the barrel and means for supporting cable bonding elements in apredetermined position with respect to said barrel, in combination withan adapter slidably fitting within the breech of said barrel and formedwith an opening therethrough for receiving a cartridge of smallerdiameter than said barrel, projecting means on the end of said indentingmember which engages the cable bonding elements for forming apredetermined type of indentation in said elements, and means on saidadapter engaging both said tool and said indenting member to locate theprojecting means on the indenting member in a predetermined orientedposition with respect to said barrel.

PHILIP E. LITTLEHALE.

